British Columbia Leads First Fall NAIA Standings

British Columbia (Can.) leads the first set of Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup fall standings. The Thunderbirds have accumulated 172 total points after taking home the women’s cross country title and finishing sixth in men’s cross country.

Cal State San Marcos trails the Cougars by just seven points after a fourth place finish in women’s cross country and a third place result in men’s cross country, for 165 total points.

St. Francis (Ill.) is in third place with 154 points. The Fighting Saints finished in first place in men’s cross country and earned a 12th place finish in the women’s race.

Oklahoma Baptist currently occupies the fourth spot with 152 points after finishing fourth in women’s cross country and sixth in men’s cross country championships.

Rounding out the top five is College of Idaho with 147 points. The Yotes placed second in women’s cross country and 11th in men’s cross country.

Two of the six fall NAIA championships have been completed with the following institutions capturing titles: men’s cross country – St. Francis (Ill.); women’s cross country – British Columbia (Can.).

The Cascade, Chicagoland and Frontier conferences each have two institutions in the top 10 – Cascade – College of Idaho (5th) and Eastern Oregon (10th); Chicagoland – St. Francis (Ill.) (3rd) and Olivet Nazarene (7th); and Frontier – Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (8th) and Carroll (Mont.) (9th).

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 12 sports — six women’s and six men’s.